Tagged superheroes

By now, you likely have seen Marvel’s latest trailer for Black Panther—if you haven’t, I strongly recommend that you take a few minutes and rectify that immediately. The anticipation for this release is due as much to the gripping visuals and ensemble cast as it is to the fact that this is only Marvel’s second superhero film in which the primary protagonist is black (the first, of course, being the woefully overlooked and underrated Blade). It is shaping up...

As far as I can remember, it started with a cup. My daughter used small juice glasses during our family meals, but as she was still under three, I was hesitant to have her use actual glassware on the nights we ate dinner outside on our back patio. Spilling the glass was still a real hazard, and having it break on the cement would be less than ideal. The patio was a prime barefoot zone, plus I could no...

Gambit. Remy LeBeau. His fans love him fiercely, but it can be hard to admit loyalty toward him—even fellow X-Men devotees who are supposed to respect individuality, as it is a main theme of the franchise, can be pretty vicious in their criticism of the Ragin’ Cajun. Gambit has been called the lamest mutant, the wussiest mutant. And yet, for all the disdain he’s given, he is still going strong, immune to all those put-downs. Not bad for the...

Sometimes, the world is a worrisome place. It can seem that all that is good in the world is outweighed by a threatening thunderstorm of bad, making me wonder what my child would learn from it all. Then, I remember how, at a convention in the recent past, my tiny Jedi used her lightsaber to help a similarly aged friend find the courage to walk past a rather intimidating Dalek. In other words, let me paraphrase the advice given by...

I remember when I was around 13 and bought yet another Spider-Man action figure. My mother was not happy about it—she expected me to be past the age of being into such “childish” things. Well, I’m now 34 and still very much a fan of all things superhero. I’m not ashamed of it, though I should acknowledge that it does help to live in a world in which superhero and geek culture is more alive and accepted than it...

Dear United Nations, I am writing to you with regard to your recent selection of Wonder Woman as your Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, effective today. If there were ever a modern-day “shot heard round the world,” this would be it. (And not just because it is deflected off her metal bracelets!) Your appointment of Wonder Woman is a bold effort that resonates with so many of us: women and men, black and white, young and old. I would argue that...

Christopher Jones is a Minnesota-based comic artist and illustrator who has worked on a multitude of different comics and books, including properties from Young Justice to The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to Doctor Who: The Third Doctor. Due to his having worked on a few things that I am a fan of, I was pretty pumped when he graciously took some time out of his day to answer a few of my questions. Philip Coler (TCG): For people who don’t...

Amid the vast landscape of modern superhero movies, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice takes aim a little higher than the usual popcorn entertainment. It wants to ask the tougher questions of vigilantism and how a being such as Superman fits into the politics of national security. It delves into the damaging nature of pathos that shapes men into monsters of frightening horror. And it takes plenty of shots at relating to the struggle of man versus god versus...

I believe that every Batfan has their own version of Batman running around in their head. Despite his extraordinary circumstances, the orphaned seven-year-old who invests his time, body, mind, and resources to become a grown-up hero is someone just about everyone can relate to on some level—though just who he is and what drives his war on crime will always be under debate. Is it heroism, pain, hope, anger, guilt, a feeling of responsibility, boredom? Has he been planning...

At first glance, Eric Dean Seaton’s Legend of the Mantamaji may look like a typical comic-book story, complete with pencil-thin-mustached villain, a seemingly formulaic world-ending plot, and a reluctant Black hero . . . and if you merely skim the book, that’s probably what you’d see. But you’d be wrong. Below the surface is a cornucopia of subtle messages and plot devices that reveal this series to be more—so much more. For a little background, if you were reading comic...